Shirou Emiya and the Golden Fleece
by The Pale Duck
Summary: A farewell that was destined to occur, a slight change closing so many doors but perhaps... Another can be opened? Can Shirou Emiya find out how to be a hero among the children of gods? Will he be able to stand against the darkness that awaits his new friends, or will he be forced to make a choice that ultimately dooms his soul?
1. Prologue

Prologue- A wish to the lake

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

* * *

"- So, everything is over?"

"… Yeah. This is it. There's nothing left."

"I see. Then our contract is at an end. I became your sword, defeated your enemies, and protected you …I am glad to have fulfilled this promise."

"… Yeah. You did well, Saber."

Nothing more needs to be said. Saber is far away, and I do not run to her. The morning sun starts rising, the halted wind began anew. A golden view that seems to last forever and in it… Saber stands with a smile.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you," her voice filled with determination.

"…What is it?" I reply like always.

Her body seems to relax before she spoke in a voice without regret…

"Shirou- Thank you for saving me."

Saying those words, she closes her eyes, as if to treasure these memories. I keep mine open, looking at her as the wind picks up, carrying her fading form with it as if she were never there in the first place. I do not speak as I knew this would be the way we parted.

"Yeah- It really is like you," I finally said, no regret in my voice. Staring at where she once stood, I squinted against the morning rays, ingraining this moment within my mind forever. After a few moments, I turned to face the pool of mud only to see it was grasping for Illya, trying to pull her within itself to consume her.

Acting fast, my body moved before I realized it, picking up Illya's unconscious body and throwing her farther from the lake. I then felt how not a moment later the mud grasp around my legs. My legs burned more than before, no longer simply being graced as it pulled me into itself, mind going blank from the pain coursing through me.

I could feel the curses once more, this time not held back by Kotomine to prolong my suffering. It was consuming me, just as it did in that fire with the people caught within its flames. "Ghhh," I grit my teeth to drive away the pain.

Steeling my mind against the onslaught of curses my circuits flared and once more, it was in my hand, the golden sheath of Saber. I didn't even have to think about tracing it, my soul responding on instinct as it once more eradicated the curses from my body. However, this time it wasn't as strong... Of course, it wouldn't be. Saber was gone, it could only use the last remains of her energy that was left before it once more would be nothing but a perfect sheath.

As I tried to push myself out of the lake, the feeling of the mud shifted. No more could I feel the onslaught of curses against the weakening Avalon. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard of a woman's voice, monotonous but beautiful.

"Wish granted."

Before I could even register the words, my mind slipped as Avalon lost its light...

* * *

... I don't know how long I was unconscious for...

My mind drifted as if in a dream, a dream familiar yet distinctly unfamiliar. It was a brilliant white tower with a single man inside, his white robes flowing behind him as he turned to me, his hair shimmering like the rainbow.

"Ohh, you are here." He said simply as if expecting me. "You have performed me an immense service, helping Artoria. For that: I would like to thank you."

I tried asking him what was going on but no words escaped my lips.

"Forgive me, I can't manifest your words in this place, as you aren't completely here; this is but a dream after all." He answered in a joyous tone. His lack of care obvious.

"Nonetheless, I think I should bestow upon you what you might have been given once upon a time, but that you no longer can be able to be gifted." His words were declared in a similarly joyous tone but seemed to convey genuine gratitude, despite the cryptic nature of them. Stepping towards me, I made no attempts at moving, knowing I couldn't even if I wanted to. Standing straight in front of me, the man I knew as Merlin from Saber's memories once more spoke.

"I'm not capable of granting it to you. However, I can grant the one you possess what it needs to be yours." Clearly enjoying my confusion, Merlin struck my chest and transmitted a pulse of prana through it. The pulse awakened my circuits without my control and made my mind trace Avalon once more. This time it was, however, slightly different.

"There, now you might survive. At least Artoria can't say I didn't try, hmm?" He asked, knowing I couldn't respond. 'He's enjoying this... But what does he mean "might survive"? Survive what?' I thought to myself, however, I didn't put much thought into it. Once more I could detect Avalon's influence through my body; it's gentle presence once more filling the gaps it had left when extracted. 'How?' Was the question that echoes through my mind, something Merlin took note of.

"You must be confused, correct? I simply repaid you for liberating my lord of her duties in the best way I could imagine; That Avalon inside you is now tuned for your prana signature, just like it was to Artoria." He acknowledged my internal question. His joyous tone turning into one of a teacher explaining a new subject to his student. 'He... is worse then Fuji-nee...' I thought to myself.

"Hmm, it seems like you are slipping away. Farewell then, Shirou Emiya and good luck. You will need it." He said suddenly and before I recognized it the tower and its inhabitant faded from view.

* * *

Waking up, I was surprised by my surroundings. Comparing it to either the Ryuko Temple or the White Tower, it looked... plain. It was a magnificent ordinary forest but it nevertheless was that, a typical forest. As I tried to stand up, my body groaned in protest, but I disregarded it. Remembering Merlin's warning, he had been grave when declaring those things. Looking around, I couldn't discover any sign of civilization, but the air was too polluted to be without it. Gathering a deep breath, my brain was assaulted.

Hundreds, no thousands of scents entered my nose; sending my body into overdrive and causing my circuits to heat up. Taking a few seconds, I gradually relaxed as nothing happened; my brain slowly calming down from the wave of stimuli. So many distinctive scents. They were everywhere, almost impossibly overwhelming for my mind; it was almost bizarre. Snatching another deep breath, I looked around for something to focus on to withdraw my mind from this sensation, only to land upon two items: a backpack and Rin's dagger, resting against the tree I woke up beside. I stared at the bag for a moment, not quite comprehending why my old backpack had come here when it was in my shed.

Walking to open it, I discovered an odd note at the top: "Here are some things I thought you would need, now Arthoria will have to get off my neck... But next time, try to be more talkative. It is problematic to maintain a conversation on your own, you know?"

...

I could feel my eyebrow twitching more and more at that last sentence. 'He... is worse then Fuji-nee, no doubt...' was the only thing I could think. Sighing, I hastily looked through the bag: several pairs of my clothes, the essentials for hygiene, a tent with camping equipment, 500 dollars and an ID that included all the required identifications... 'That is disturbing...' I thought before seeing a picture of my 12/13-year-old self. '12? Why does it- No, don't tell me... Indeed, it is true...' Looking down at myself, I was met with my 12 or 13-year-old body, explaining why the clothes were smaller than they should be for my 17-year-old body.

* * *

It had been three hours since I found myself here. I had spent the majority of my time exploring the area I woke up in to secure it, the sun slowly sinking. Until now, I haven't found much, except the river I was currently traversing upstream. A water bottle had emerged from the water a while ago. 'If there's that then that must mean some kind of human being upstream.'

With those thoughts, I had walked onward, hoping to find out where I was and what had been downright dangerous that Merlin himself assisted me. 'He expected me as if to see me off on a lengthy journey…' For some reason, this felt like it happened in the past or should have happened. '... I can think about it later. I have to prepare a camp and clean up before I encounter anyone anyways.'

Making up my mind, I carry out a brief search of the area before settling down by the river and unpacking the camp equipment and tent. It went faster than expected, requiring only a few minutes to put up before preparing the food from the bag. 'It won't compare to what Sakura and I typically make but it's better than nothing at least.'

* * *

The forest was quiet, starting to slumber as night fell upon it, lulling the creatures of the wild to sleep. It had been a long day but not everyone was preparing to slumber. Quick feet moved between the trees, leaving not a whisper as their owner passed.

Quicker then a shadow the young girl ran. Her steps didn't disturb the twigs nor grass underneath her foot. Such was the grace she had developed for thousands of years. Her form was nothing but a silver blur to the woodland creatures, shocking them for but a moment before being calmed.

Coming to a halt near a river, she ultimately stopped, making her appearance finally be revealed to the world. She was a beauty in her own right, tall and graceful, with copper skin and black long hair braided into a silver circlet that rested on her head. She wore a silver tunic with sandals on her feet, letting her move swiftly without restrictions from her clothing.

She didn't stay still for long, detecting the sounds of a crackling fire not too far away. 'It seems like I found them, it was harder than I thought it would be.' It hadn't been hard to follow the tracks. The problem had been finding them in the first place as they simply… appeared under a tree, without any tracks before it. 'It should have been a Nymph but this is far too far away from that tree to be one… I should have found it sooner.'

Pushing the thoughts aside, for now, the immortal maiden stepped out into the clearing; ready to observe what it was her mistress had needed her to inves-

Staring, the ancient hunter merely stared at the sight before her, her cheeks heating up despite herself. In front of her was a modest camp, not anything compared to the hunters but it was sufficient for one person. What made her freeze, however, was what she saw in the river… A young boy about 12 or so… who was bathing, naked?

* * *

Author Notes:

Hey, that was my first fic so far, hope you all enjoyed it! As to some questions as to what this is all about, I sorta just found it strange that in the Fate Route the characters managed to destroy the grail with so little effort in the Visual Novel. So, I decided to change some things, along with a few other unrelated changes that will be explained later.

As I said before hope you enjoyed and please write any critique or suggestions you have for the story or for my writing in general, anything will be very helpful!

Word count: 1868

Written: 2020-01-16

Posted: 2020-01-18

Edit #1: 2020-01-24

Edit #2: 2020-02-14


	2. Chapter 1- The Ancient Virgins words

Chapter 2-

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

Authors Note: HOLY SHIT! Guys, I can't believe this honestly: 28 favorites, 38 Follows and 7 Reviews! This is what I woke up to after posting my story 8-9 hours earlier, and it just keeps growing! And when I put the finishing touches now, we are at 87 Favs 145 Follows and 17 reviews!

I have no words to thank you all so I will just do it with a chapter if that's fine with you all!

This is sadly unedited so I will post an edited version soon.

Reviews will be answered at the end unless it's a spoiler of course.

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Forest riverside, dusk-

Staring at the woman before me, I could see her cheeks grow slightly pink, clearly proving her embarrassment; my own cheeks heating up alongside hers.

She was as gorgeous as Saber, the setting sun giving her what seemed to be a glow-. No, she did faintly glow silver. Before I could open my mouth however she suddenly pulled a bow and arrow out of seemingly nowhere. Knocking it on her bow and pulling it back fully in less than a second, before letting go.

It was only my training with Saber and my experiences during the Holy Grail War that made me able to jump away, landing beside where I put my clothes. This was bad… She had already let loose three arrows after me, forcing me to roll to the side, getting up on my knee as the hammer within my mind strikes down; firing off my circuits as they start reinforcing my body. We had 20 meters between us. I can cross this distance in just two steps with this body.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?" I asked her, ready to move if she continued her assault.

Before I could move, however, she seemed to calm herself even if her cheeks grew redder. Bringing down her bow slightly, she spoke "Can thee put on some clothing before we talk? I don't want to look at a naked boy." She spoke the last words with a certain amount of irritants, but I ignored it.

Walking slowly towards where I put my clothes I saw the bow woman avert her eyes away from me. She was clearly relieved when not having to see me as I dried myself off or dressed.

As I finished, I said: "You can look now, but keep the bow down." A brief look of annoyance had been her response before she sighed and looked at me, keeping the arrow on the bow without drawing it.

"Who are you? And what is thee doing here?" She asked, ignoring my own questions in the process, surprisingly speaking English even if she understood what I said earlier.

I watched her for a few seconds as I continued reinforcing my body just in case, Kotomine having left a sour taste in my mouth.

My lack of an answer seemed to annoy her, but she stayed silent, not saying a word in return. We had continued looking at each other for a few seconds before I caught a movement behind her, a giant black hound stalking towards her.

I moved. I didn't even think about it as I dashed towards the beast, not even acknowledging the arrow piercing into my shoulder. The young bow woman had already started rolling away, but I ignored her. Tracing Caliburn would take too long. I instead punched the hound when it pounced on me, clearly surprised by my sudden movements, but not enough to stop its own assault.

Crack! The great hound howled in pain after my fist made contact with its head, making it break. It was effortless, too easy. A child's fist shouldn't be able to break the bones of this giant beast. Ignoring this, for now, I struck it again.

Another crack was heard, the beast, now damaged and disoriented. It didn't underestimate me anymore as it jumped back, landing awkwardly but out of reach.

Just as I was about to dash at it three arrows pierced it, going through the eyes of the creature and into its heart, causing it to drop down: Dead before it hit the ground.

"I did not need for thee to "save" me. I could have handled it easily," came a voice from behind me, less hostile this time. As I turned to face her, she had put away her bow and arrows. However, she still seemed to be cautious of me.

"I couldn't let a girl be attacked from behind," I answered, as I tried pushing out the arrow, already feeling Avalon's power coursing through me to close the wound. However, this seemed to only bring back her irritation.

"Well I don't require a boy defending me," she said, a glare in her eyes. She reminded me of Saber to an extent. I knew forcing this would merely cause her to be even more against it, so I changed the topic.

"My name is Shirou, Emiya Shirou." If she was puzzled by my name, she didn't show it. However, she seemed to remember something foul.

"You are Japanese? Regardless, I will have to rapport back to my mistress that it was merely a half-blood that disturbed the forest." She muttered the latter part to herself, but my still enhanced ears could overhear it clearly.

"Half-blood? I'm unrelated to demons." I said quickly, looking at her straight in her eyes. This, however, had bewildered her before she seemed to understand.

"The Japanese call everything with mixed blood for half-bloods? That would make sense..." She got an expression so similar to Tohsaka that my mouth moved on its own, offering her something unreasonable in this situation.

"Why don't we talk while eating? My stew will be done soon anyway and I made a bit much out of habit." If she was puzzled about my statement about half-bloods, this would seem to outright shock her.

"... I suppose we could do that… but have any of your parents been absent?" Her question seemed to carry some secret meaning. However, what that might be, was lost on me.

"They both died in a fire a few years ago," I say naturally, her expression turned apologetic. I could grasp why, but I was over it years ago, it didn't bother me anymore.

* * *

-Zoe's pov-

Afterward, we ate primarily in silence. I tried not looking at the red-haired boy, Shirou, during the meal. He was an… alright, chef, for a boy; so it wasn't too much of a challenge. He seemed content with staying silent after I had looked at his shoulder. What I had seen shouldn't be possible, I knew that my arrow had struck true but yet, I couldn't find any wound; Only blood.

I pondered what my mistress or sisters would have done in this situation. In all my time as a hunter, men have discovered us while we bathed, never the reverse.

How he has survived on his own I can't tell nor can I discern how he managed to merely appear from a tree. Who his immortal parent might be could give a clue but there is no way of telling. He resembles none of the gods besides my mistress, but she didn't have half-bloods, only the once adopted as hunters.

Finishing the dish, I sighed, this was going to take a while to explain...

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Road, the day after-

Who could have thought the greek gods were still around? They even had kids according to Zoë, the girl I met, all sent to a place called "Camp Half-blood."

She appeared to dislike the place but told me how to get to it, she also told me where I was; close to a town in West Virginia… I had ended up in the US... Why do I feel like this is Merlin's doing?

Following the river, we ultimately came to the city. We moved mostly in silence, neither of us having anything to speak of for the most part.

Once we had arrived in town Zoë sought out a car renter. I soon understood why my father told me I had to learn how to drive on my own, not let anyone else do it for me; Zoë pushed the car for all that it was worth and more, forcing me to reinforce the roof handle to not pull it from the roof.

"So Zoë… Why do you think I need to go to Camp Half-blood? If you hate it?" I ask between her sharp curves, not wanting to distract her even for a second when we travel at these speeds.

"That is easy, thee is a Half-blood." She answered evenly, almost as if she had said this many times before, not at all affected by how we practically drifted through every curve. She said it almost as if I should have known this already.

"What makes you so certain?" My question earned me a tired sigh that reminded me of my friend, Rin.

"Because," She said, "That is the only way thee could have handled that Hellhound with such ease, no normal human could do that." That made me keep from saying anything else about it, knowing it would only bring up questions I've avoided answering for years, even to my best friends. Only Rin, Illia and the other participants of the Holy Grail War knew I was a magus.

Taking my silence as confusion, she spoke. "One of thy parents were mortal while the other was a god or goddess. Usually, thee can tell from either skills the demigod possess or their appearance; even who their mortal parent is can help narrow it down even if you can't be certain."

"Why can't you be certain? If a demigod displays traits of Zeus, they are the child of Zeus right?" I asked, figuring it was quite simple if each demigod had traits you could recognize.

"Not exactly," She answered, slightly hesitant. "The child could be a lega- ehh, a descendant of a demigod or they could even be both at the same time. Besides, a demigod needs to be claimed to fully access their parent's domain."

That left a sour taste in my mouth, the way she said it. It practically implied it didn't always happen this way, if at all.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, my body slowly growing used to her… intensive driving, an understanding that, while possibly a speed junkie; she did know what she was doing.

"... Sorry…" Came a quiet voice after some time, quiet enough that I barely heard it.

"Hmm? What was that?" I asked her.

"... I'm sorry for shooting thee…" She said eyes kept straight ahead, her grip tightening around the steering wheel slightly.

"You thought I was striking at you, so why would I criticize you?" This seemed to relax her, and we fell back into silence.

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Side of a forest road, late afternoon-

Zoë dropped me off a few hours later in the middle of a forest road, apparently having to go back to the other hunters. We said our goodbyes and then we parted ways.

That was two days ago and nothing major happened during that time, except my nose had started to calm down enough that I don't have a headache. Continuing down the road, I moved behind the tree line. I couldn't be seen from the road by any passerby, even if people rarely-

"H-help…"

A quiet voice, no higher than a whisper, was carried on the wind. Anyone hearing it would simply disregard it, far too quiet to be anything beyond imagination. I didn't stop to think about something like that as I was already running deeper into the woods, following where I heard the voice.

I arrived in a clearing, the wind gently moving the grass and rustling the leaves. There, gasping for breath, was an attractive girl clad in what seems to be a dress of black and green leaves. Her face, like her dress, had a greenish and black hue to it that seemed sickly. As I moved closer I realized why.

The black parts of her dress and body growing as she let out a strangled scream. Whatever it was, it was afflicting her.

When I crouched down by her side, she suddenly noticed me and shrieked in fear. Crawling backward as best she could while covering her head, she mumbled over and over in a language I couldn't understand.

… This was bad… I can't help her if she is this afraid…

"Hey, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you; I'm here to help," I say as soothingly as I could manage, moving slowly while showing my hands to her. She continued to move away as far as she could but slowly started to open an eye, looking at me warily.

"Y-y-you a-ar-aren't l-l-l-like h-h-him, r-r-right?" The genuine terror and agony in her eyes told me I couldn't allow her to suffer any longer...The image of the corpses in the church appeared in my mind… I won't tolerate someone to suffer like my brothers and sisters from the fire.

"Of course not, I don't even know who he is," I answered while slowly getting closer, her lack of attempts to get further away urging me forward.

"O-o-okay, y-y-you d-don-n't feel l-like h-hi-!" Before she even finished her sentence she let out another scream before passing out, the black corruption rapidly enveloping her…

* * *

Authors note:

To clear up some things reviewers have asked, here we go:

Suzululu4moe: Thank you so much for pointing this out! It should be fixed now.

Kayen1024: Glad you noticed! To answer your questions, she didn't cause this version of them didn't fall in love; I wanted to keep shipping opportunities open you know? But yeah in this they are as close friends as anyone can be, close enough that if the thing with the mud didn't happen they could, in theory, reach the true end of the route. And yes, Percy will have been at camp as this is book two but this is a while before he went there.

Sasoi-sama: Thank you, that was the point of it, I hope I didn't drag it out here and hope you enjoy!

Tsukishiro Sayuki: Indeed lol.

Qrow454: I didn't _have_ to but chose to, plus got a reason for it later.

Gennychi: As the chapter revealed, it was Zoë Nightshade, hope she was less OOC now, just felt like if she did come across a scene like that she would at least be blushing because of embarrassment/shame at doing the same thing she hates men doing plus it isn't quite something you expect.

AriFrost: Yeah, that is why I picked him as I actually want to give the other character a reason to not just go "Hey send Shirou, he can spam them with nukes and this will be over". Sadly, as I said to Kayen, they didn't fall in love as otherwise, I feel I shouldn't/couldn't make him have a relationship with another girl.

DarkElucidator & beingLazy: Yes indeed haha.

Guest: Well sorry you feel that way but he was only naked cause he was bathing, he had clothes on otherwise even if they might be damaged/dirt.

To everyone asking me to continue, if I will continue or just said that the chapter was good, thank you all of you! I won't abandon this for a long time but won't be able to update it rapidly as I'm still in school and have loads of homework and shit to do so it will probably be only once a week for now.

Sorry for bloating this with all comments but I just wanted to respond so everyone is on the same page, have a wonderful day!

2,144 Words

Finished and uploaded: 2020-01-24

Edited #1: 2020-01-30

Edited #2: 2020-02-14

Edited #1 by: ElipticsShadow-chan

Edited #2: Me


	3. Chapter 2- The Dryads Deal

Chapter 2-

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

Authors Note

Sorry for taking longer than usual, have been sick for the whole week so sorry. Thankfully, my friend ElipticsShadow helped finish this chapter faster then it would have been otherwise.

Onto other things, I added two questions at the end of the chapter for you all that I hope you can respond to

Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

I ran to her side just as the last of her green dress turned black and gray, her skin fading from black to a sickly gray. Checking her pulse I let out a sigh of relief, at least she was alr-

"Guh" I let out a groan as her grip tightened around my wrist, red eyes glaring at me. Reacting quickly the mental image of a hammer striking down on a gun filled my mind and I pulled away with reinforced strength.

… I didn't see her move…

Jumping back away I created distance while she gradually got up. Reinforcing the rest of my body, I managed to get 30 meters from her.

"It's you… it's your fault this happened!" She roared, running towards me.

'Slow…' that was my only thought when comparing her to a servant. If I hadn't seen one before I would have said she was fast, she was far faster than a normal human. However, compared to a servant, a being I almost couldn't see because of their sheer speed, this was slow.

Rolling to the right quickly as the ground started to break I managed to avoid the roots that sprouted from my previous position. 'That could cause some problems'

Avoiding a sloppy but powerful punch my circuits heated up. I needed something to deal with those roots, otherwise, I might be trapped.

… A sword without flaw…

It came into my mind without much effort. I had seen the blade many times, my dreams containing it, my mind forming it twice for a similar purpose.

… no, this time the purpose was different...

This time I didn't fight against a being I had no chance against, nor did I fight a being who possessed thousands upon thousands of superior weapons. No, this time I was facing a being who I truly could match and perhaps surpass.

Judging the concept of creation

A sword made to determine future king, making whoever drew it beyond human.

Avoiding another strike by pushing it aside, I let her step past me, having performed a mad dash to strike my face. Her arms were covered in what looked like gray bark adorned thorns and vines.

Hypothesizing the basic structure

A medieval long sword with a decorated hilt worthy of a king.

"Gahhhh! Just stay still!" Her roar warned me of her approach, allowing me to turn around and confront her head-on. Striking out with both my palms against her shoulders I ignored the pain in my left cheek, more focused on her falling form; not expecting the force behind the blow.

Duplicating the composition material

Steel, enhanced and extracted from a lay line, selected by its maker for it's for its high capacity and strength.

She started to growl as she jumped back up on her feet to once more approach me, now more cautiously but fast. Her footwork was sloppy and wild, her hands curled into claws. This was a figure of a wild beast, unlike the heroes of old that had been far beyond me.

Imitating the skill of its making

Crafted and enhanced by the magus of flowers, forged for the selection and victory of the Rightful King.

… No, it was an unfair comparison… It was comparing a forest fire to the sun, both burning bright in their own right, however one truly shining brighter without a doubt.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

Serving as its wielders claim to the throne, it adorned her side and prolonged her youth for many years.

However, she must have realized what I was doing, sensing the energy that was building up; halting her mad dash suddenly.

Reproducing the accumulated years

Witnessing countless battlefields, it leads its wielder to victory time and time again.

"I won't let you hurt me again!" She howled, as she lunged her arm forward, ripping apart the ground between us as roots emerged without end.

… it was too late…

Excelling every manufacturing process

It was the legendary sword, Caliburn, wielded by the Once and Future King of England; Artoria Pendragon.

Once the roots struck me head-on, my body was forced against a thick tree, almost taking my breath away. The only thing that escaped my lips was two words.

"Trace, on!"

The familiar weight almost brought a smile to my lips as I slowly got up. The girl before me took a moment to look over my sword, most likely to see how much of a threat it would be... this was all I needed. My body got into the stance I'd taken many times in the dojo, the style of its former wielder resonating with the blade.

...The battle has changed...

I won't need to only avoid or defend anymore. I will be able to attack without putting myself in the same danger, however, my enemy will also regard me as more of a threat; I should end this quickly.

"Damn you half-bloods, damn you human!" Her roar was my only warning as wines shot out towards me from her hands, my blade responding without much prompting at all. Slashing through the wines my body moved towards my opponent, sword slashing apart the wines she sent my way. It seems like my body moves a little easier than before, not getting pulled along as much...

Dashing to the side and cutting through where I previously was, my blade cut through the thick root that had emerged to grab my foot. My blade once more shot out, blocking her incoming kick with the flat of the blade. Even if I blocked it, I slide backward from the force, staying upright but once more a few meters away... She is strong, but she acts like a Berserker...

Thankfully, she lacked both the skill and speed of Berserker himself, otherwise, Shirou Emiya would be dead. I pushed that thought aside, not needing them at the moment. My opponent was approaching, her skin thickening as it gained a gray texture of bark; her feet and arms had turned into thick roots and branches respectively. Raising my sword in response I pushed off from the ground, turning into a blur.

We clashed, my blade sinking into her left branch-arm, forcing me to twist it free from the bark; before another strike could land on me… I can't put too much force into it, otherwise, I might accidentally hurt or kill her...

Dodging the following strike, I moved my blade to deflect her strike, aiming a quick pommel strike against her nose; missing it but landing the blow on her cheek.

"Gahhh, just die already!" Her scream was filled with both pain and anger as her arm once again shoot out to send another wave of roots my way, forcing me to once more stop and defend myself by cutting it down.

'… I need to cut her down in one swing, I can heal her afterward with Avalon…' Hardening my resolve, my body moving by my sword, preparing itself to strike…

"Oh no, you don't!" She must have realized I planned on ending this, moving farther away from me; but I won't let her. My body moved.

20 meters, dodging a series of roots shooting out towards me, blocking it would just slow me down; the loss of speed something I can't afford.

15 meters, jumping over collapsing earth, my legs moving progressively faster; achieving far more speed then I should have with this body.

10 meters, her expression starting to change, she's trying to move away faster but it doesn't work; my approach far too quick.

5 meters, she desperately shoots out as many roots and wines that she can manage, none of her previous focus as they simply create a wild whirlwind of gray plant life. I didn't even have to think about it, a rising cut splitting a path for me.

My sword connects with her shoulder, cutting through her without resistance, her eyes widening and staring; before I no longer saw her. I hear a soft thud behind me as I stopped, turning around to see her fallen form.

I let out a breath, finally relaxing my bod-

"Ugh…" My knees almost buckle under me, pain pulsing through me like liquid metal, only my nightly training letting me stay upright. I force myself closer to the fallen girl's side, my legs giving out halfway through.

"... Trace, on."

Avalon once again was in my hand, my perfect projection once more appearing as if it had always been there; no time lost nor any excess resources. Pushing it into the unconscious girl, letting it be absorbed into her body, I instantly felt the drain.

'… I see…' my conscious mind slipping as the drain increased, letting me realize something I should have before. Avalon takes a lot of energy from its owner to heal, especially when that someone is unrelated to its owner.

My eyes started to flutter, the last thing I could see was the girl under me slowly healing, her appearance slowly becoming more like it was before. This brought a smile to my lips, a single thought echoing in my mind as I fell into darkness.

'I saved her.'

* * *

When I finally came to, the sky was black, stars lighting up the clearing. No, it did light up the clearing, but the main light came from a small fire, crackling quietly.

"Thank you," a voice spoke suddenly, a calm I hadn't heard from it before. Looking around, I saw the girl from earlier; now without her hateful expression and with a less sickly appearance, even when still possessing a gray and dark appearance.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I answered, my voice somewhat raspy. Smirking, she handed me a bottle of water from my backpack; a look on her face urging me to drink.

"You know, you shouldn't trust people so easily, what if I poisoned you?" She says with a glint in her eye, one that is far too similar to Fuji-nee's teasing look, already feeling a twitch building in my eyebrow.

Looking at her, I let a quick sigh escaped my lips. "If you wanted me dead, I already would be, I have been unconscious until now after all," I said to her, my voice it's usual monotone when dealing with Fuji-nee's latest plan.

"Gee, you're no fun..." Standing there, she looks me up and down, a mischievous grin filling her face with ease. "If you want to know my name, then tell me, idiot... Why did you bother saving me?"

"It was nothing really. I just couldn't let you be in pain," I answered honestly, not seeing a reason to lie.

"Tch, fine idiot," she said, a small peach hue filling her cheeks. "My name is Ebony..."

"I'm Shiro, Emiya Shirou."

Ignoring her expression and sitting up, my muscles complained in protest, every fibre of my being told me to lay back down. I ignored it, sitting up fully to look around at our campsite, seeing it fully for the first time… Calling it a campsite was hard in and of itself; the marks of our fight still present. They were lessened, alongside scars of another struggle. This time, against the camping equipment, and from the looks of it, the equipment succeeded. It was left half done on the ground; our "tent" made from roots and branches formed in unnatural patterns.

… She was just like taiga when it comes to camping as well…

"Why do you look at me like I'm a pest? A bug or a fly?" Ebony asks in annoyance, glaring at me.

Sigh "I just got reminded of someone." I say, watching her body loosen up a bit in curiosity and calmness while maintaining that ever-present tenseness.

"Tch," she scoffed, averting her gaze away from me. "Someone like you shouldn't be in the forest like this. Hell, you'd be rather suited for a fancy-ass throne up on some grand castle than wandering through literal shit."

My hand starts scratching the back of my head before I realized it, my cheeks heating up a little. "H-hey don't say that, besides I heard you call for help from the road." She scoffed once more at my statement, then enquired about where I was going.

"A place called "Camp half-blood", I was told to go there, do you know where it is?" I asked her with a tilt of my head.

She bellowed and laughed at my statement, before turning to face me with her arms crossed. "So there's a camp for you nobles these days eh? Typical. I've heard of it, but I didn't think it really was true. I know the general location, so I could take you. But after that? I'm out. Deal?"

"Deal," I say without hesitation, holding out my hand for her to shake. She slapped it out the way. After that, I fixed my backpack and collected my things, discovering items scattered and misplaced crudely as if someone had gone through them. I glance a look at her only to get a smug smile in return. Thankfully, most of it was salvageable. Rin's dagger was still in the backpack, untouched.

We then made our way through the forest. Moving faster than we should have until we ended up on rolling hills and strawberry fields, a hill with a lone tree loomed solemnly in the distance...

* * *

Authors note

Before I go onto the reviews I just want to thank you for reading another chapter but I would also like to ask for your help with two things:

How can I improve/anything you want to critique the story for so far?

_Who do you feel Shirou should end up with in the future?_

_That is the two questions I leave you with, now onto reviews!_

Lost Stardust1: I know I could take him all the way to camp but I do sorta prefer to have him get there on his own without just a cheap "You are at camp now, cheers" the first time he goes there. But I do think that Zoë would take him at least part of the way, the reason she cut off their journey was a summon from Artemis plus she had been away for a while.

Kayen1024: Well you have to read and see~~

Hero of Justice Roxas: He didn't have the time as he jumped up to it and it was on him basically at the same time, plus at the moment his tracing takes too long and he doesn't know he can trace anything besides those two weapons.

Tsukishiro Sayuki: I didn't think about it at the time, was mostly thinking about how he was said to have a scar from the archery incident and how the spear was said to be hard to heal, I have deleted it now.

Gennychi: Yes I know it was a little weird but I saw it kinda like this, she hasn't had any "casual" contact with a lot of guys for thousands of years(to my knowledge) as the hunters seem quite hostile to men, so she would probably have found this as a bit of a shock because of the distance to that culture for a long time. Yeah, it will be fun to see them see Shirou fire off arrows, would probably make them see him as an unclaimed brother or something lol, as for the sword fight that would be nice. If he is a descendant or something else... Well, let's see what happens.

Guest: Hmm? What do you mean?

PanzerJ: Know what you mean, I hate it when fanfic I like is just randomly abandoned, but no worries, I DO plan on at least finishing this; if not make it a series.

Im a guest: Sadly he won't be able to go there in this version, at least not with that approach.

ElipticsShadow: I didn't forget, just didn't think you wanted a mention as you don't write anymore and you didn't seem interested in having a mention, will ad it in the chapters you helped with.

Words 2229

Finished and uploaded: 2020-02-01

Edited and co-authored #1 by ElipticsShadow-chan

Edit #2: 2020-02-14

Edit #2: Me


	4. Chapter 3- The Two Sides of Camp

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

This chapter was edited with a new grammar/spell checker program, let me know what you think!

And before we start, please read the three most common reviews I responded to after you've read the chapter.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Thalia's tree, late night-

Once we arrived at the camp, I was genuinely surprised. It consisted of buildings made in various materials and styles formed into a U-shape around a great fire: Two similar marble buildings(one more massive than the other); another made out of sea stone, covered with coral and seashells; yet another covered in flowers and plant life followed by one with a crude red paint job and what looked to be barbed wire on the roof.

The next few were just as interesting with the exception of one gray building, followed by two where one was made in silver while the other was in gold. The one capturing my eyes the most was one that looked almost like a factory with gears, brick walls, and smokestacks.

The three that followed all looked quite mundane compared to those previous; one like a dollhouse while another looking as if it was in urgent need for renovations. This left the last one pretty standard with the exception of vines flowing over the walls and ceiling.

Besides these buildings, I could make out: a climbing wall with lava, an amphitheater, a building suspiciously like the Coliseum and, the both strangest and most normal of them all: A big blue farmhouse in the middle of it all.

… I don't know if I'm supposed to find it amusing, a normal if big farmhouse surrounded by all these bizarre buildings…

"This is where we depart, right?" I ask casually, knowing this was going to happen. However, my question only seemed to get her upset for some reason. I prepared myself for a similar assault she had done beforehand, only this time with her words. However, it never came.

She paused momentarily to compose herself, staring my form up and down like a predator stares at its prey, eager to convey a piece of her mind. She hesitated, however, falling short of the crazed farewell she appears to desire. After a few moments, she took a deep breath.

"Look, idiot," She spoke with a fiery tone. "I can't conceive a reason to go farther here, yet I want to do it. I may not be like you with your fancy sword powers, but-." I halted her, getting the message of what she was trying to say to me but had too much pride to say.

"In that case, I need you to stay," I declare to her, knowing from experience that it's better to make it sound like I asked for my sake. It left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

"Well, suppose it can't be helped then…" she mumbled after a moment, turning to face the camp instead of me, a slightly more relaxed if not wistful expression on her face.

'She definitely wanted to be here, didn't she? I wonder why…' Regardless, we made our way down to the big blue house, directing a final gaze on the beautiful pine tree that was on our right; it's leaves moving in the wind as if to greet us, despite the rotting piece of its trunk…

* * *

-Ebony's pov-

-Thalia's tree, late night-

This was a damn joke… no scrap that, this must be a godsdamn nightmare with how my night is going! To begin with, I'm minding my own business when BAM! A kid walks into my clearing and poisons my tree with something, then another kid runs in and starts to assault me! … I might have attacked first but that's beside the point!

On top of that, he wounded me, practically cleaving me in half! The following thing I experience is waking up, completely healed and everything, with him laying on me! The nerve of him, I should have completely eliminated him then but… I don't know, I merely didn't want to that's all… but did he have to smile with that much joy when unconscious?

It didn't get better when he woke up or arrived at camp either, especially as I shouldn't have been capable of leaving in the first place! I-I couldn't enter my tree or even restore it… what the hell had happened to me?!

I must talk to someone, someone who should recognize what's wrong with me… fine, I will stay at camp until I know, the other dryads should know something more than I do… I will merely have to stand his company until I can return to my tree once again. It could even be exciting to meet other dryads after so long!

I noticed that the kid seemed to tense up after we had walked past the tree, perhaps he discovered the state of the tree just now? It is quite unpleasant… They should really take care of it better, it would have been so gorgeous...

Anyways, better get somewhere to sleep as my nap was so rudely interrupted, but maybe I should allow him to get his sleeping bag first. 'Humans did need more sleep than nature spirits I've gathered or was it that they required more sun? I never could tell...'

'Hmm… Something's wrong here', I note, my "sisters" even seem on guard towards us both. I can grasp why they are against the boy but come on, against me as well? 'Ugh, people have become downright rude these last few centuries, haven't they?' It will all be over tomorrow, however, I'm certain of it.

Going off to find an appropriate clearing to sleep in after the boy was guided to one of the cabins, I soon drifted off. However, I couldn't shake off the feeling as if someone examined me...

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Hermes cabin, five in the morning-

After we arrived so late at night we were told to sleep until morning, something Ebony happily seemed to agree on as we parted. The night went by mostly without anything noteworthy, nothing except one particular sentence while I dreamt of a gorgeous field expanding endlessly with flowers.

"So… you come to me instead of the old man now, hm?"

And the next thing I know, my eyes stared up into the ceiling, a singular word on my lips: "Saber?" It had been her voice but the tone was completely different, none of her calm and composure in its joyful chime.

Shaking off both my confusion and the last of my sleepiness, I got up from my sleeping bag and stretched, looking around myself… only to find my cabin mates asleep, no signs of rising any time soon. It was however understandable, seeing as it was only 5 in the morning.

'I won't be able to sleep after that, might as well get up and start with my routine.' With that thought, I left the cabin, my spot on the floor marked by my sleeping bag.

"67… 68… 69… 70!" I mumbled to myself, finishing the last push up before getting up to head to the showers. I couldn't push my young body as far as my older one. Despite this, it seemed able to handle the strain better than it should, especially as this was only a warm-up for today's training.

Finishing a quick shower my thoughts drifted back to my dryad companion. I had noticed her trying to talk with a few dryads halfway through my workout, however, they seemed to avoid her for some reason. Maybe I should try and help her? No, if I do, she will only get upset and reject it.

Having lost myself in thought, I didn't notice myself finishing up and getting dressed nor did I notice walking into someone.

"I'm sorry, I was deep in thou-" the words were lost on me, my eyes stared into the lower half of a suit jacket. Gazing up and down from the jacket, I discovered a horse body on its lower end and a man's torso where the head should be.

"Oh no need to be sorry, didn't expect any campers besides the once on guard to be up at this time, what are you doing up so early?" The man answered, a kind smile on his lips.

"I was training, doing my daily morning routine, and what about you Mr?" I answered before asking my own question, recalling the phrase Kuzaki told us to use in these situations.

"No need to be formal with me, I'm Chiron, the teacher of heroes." The way he mentioned it was casual and practiced, something he had mentioned to many other people in similar situations like my own. "However, who are you? I haven't seen you at camp before."

"Shirou, Emiya Shirou," I said in response.

"Mr. Emiya, have you ever handled a bow?"

-A short while later, Archery Range-

Thump! It had been a while since we arrived at the camp. The other's suspicion seemed to be easing up after we had met the activities director, the trainer of heroes himself, Chiron.

Thump! He wasn't like I'd imagined him from the stories I read as a child, seeing as he was a middle-aged man with thinning chestnut hair and beard. Nothing about his appearance was like I imagined it except his lower half, a white stallion that looked exactly how the legends described it.

Thump! Ebony had left to talk to some dryads shortly after, leaving Chiron and me walking around camp, even if they didn't seem to appreciate her company much.

Thump! The unusual buildings, cabins Chiron informed me, all housed demigods with different parents. When I asked about it, he told me it had been decided after a few massive fights had broken out in the big house. I could imagine it if demigods shared the personalities of their mythological relatives.

Crack! This woke me up from my self-imposed trance and thoughts. I must have lost myself in the familiar motions of archery, enough so that I didn't realize where my aim was. The arrow I shot prior, split cleanly through… this is bad… Last time, I had to make a massive dinner before she forgave me.

"Mister Emiya, you said you did archery before, did you ever find it easier than other people did?" Chiron asked, his tone calm and somewhat curious… this wasn't what I expected.

"Um, I suppose you can say that," I said, not quite sure what he meant, but he merely smiled before looking over my shots. 'At least he isn't upset' I thought.

"I see, you don't seem to be employing traditional methods, at least not European once; is it perhaps Japanese archery?" The question might have been odd to most people but not for me, especially seeing as we had been here for some time now and recognized one thing instantly: both of us intimately knowing the way of the bow.

"Yeah, I suppose I resorted to using it out of habit even with a bow like this, even if it's not ideal," I answered. Collecting the arrows that still were usable, I once more tock my stance. Pulling back the bowstring, I became nothingness. Letting the arrow fly, I knew it had already hit before it left the bow. Thump!

* * *

-Ebony's pov-

-Around the camp, early morning-

Why… Why do they shy away? Is something wrong? Did something happen here? Is there something behind me or… No, no no no it can't be… can it? Is it me? W-what's going on? Could they... Could they think I'm some kind of enemy? That I'm not a fellow Dryad?

No… don't be silly, they must just be bewildered as to why I'm over here and not in my forest, we're like sisters after all… right? Well... I should merely try to approach one of them and try to talk. That's how people typically do this, right?

"Umm, how are you?" I ask uncertainly, hoping I just imagine that expression on her face, the expression of shocked apprehension... She didn't even have the decency to be subtle as she turned into a tree right before my eyes!

Those damn bastards! Stop rejecting me! And what if I look like a burnt piece of wood, shouldn't that cause you to want to soothe me instead of shunning me? Aren't we supposed to regard each other like family?!

Whatever, I will merely have to smile through it and figure it out myself. It is possible the girl in that tree would understand, with how sick she is; bet she is being helped by them just because she's "unique." I should go see how "special" she in fact is!

Taking a breath to soothe myself, the slowly growing tug on my lips started getting harder to keep down. 'Yeah… for all I know, maybe I should go "greet her" myself if only to get away from everyone.'

Doing a quick spin that caught the eyes of a few Satyrs, I looked around myself to observe the nymphs and dryads stay away... As far away as they could without breaching the "rules of hospitality." This... My blood started to boil before I even left the clearing, flaming rage flowing through me. Trying to calm down while wines and bushes started to sprout out with flowers, the burning sensation formed my thoughts. "Burn. They should all burn. Yes, make them suffer Ebony, let them feel your-'

"NO! Get out!" It wasn't until I said it I realized I had done so out loud... That voice again... I can't listen to it. I can't. Looking around myself a faint smile was forming on my face after seeing one of the Satyrs that followed me fallen over from shock. I might have to go soon but at least that sight would cause me a hearty laugh later.

'Doubt they would mind it, they don't want to stay around "infected" things anyway.' That thought suddenly erased my growing smile. 'Yeah, they _definitely_ cherish me here, don't they? I'm merely allowed here because I assisted a noble to arrive, why the hell did I agree to stay in the first place? I should have gone back, not think about a boy in a fire…'

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Archery Field, a few hours later-

We fell into a comfortable silence after that as Chiron picked up his own bow and allowed his arrows to sing. Neither of us acknowledging the people that gradually gathered around us. The more arrows I let loose, the more I noticed myself employing a similar technique as Chiron's own. My body subconsciously adapting to a more straightforward style for this borrowed bow.

'Hmm, it doesn't feel unnatural at all… Well, he is the teacher of heroes so perhaps this is a testament to his skill as a teacher?'

When we ultimately allowed our bows and arrows to rest and turned to leave, we were confronted with a silently staring audience. Some people seemingly holding their breaths as to not disturb us. Most of them had a bow that uselessly hung in their grip, one of them frozen in the process of stringing his bow.

"Good morning?" I asked after what felt like an eternity. However, this innocent question/statement caused the gathered crowd to snap out of their silence and explode.

-A few minutes later-

After finally calming the mob of blondes called the Apollo cabin that assaulted me with questions and praise, Chiron took to what looks to be the armory.

"Usually when I take young heroes here, it's to equip them with a weapon. However, seeing as you already possess one in the form of your sword, I believe the only thing that's missing is a sheath for it. I am however intrigued how you came to possess such an excellent blade, especially made from iron." The way he said that last thing made me curious about what he alluded to but allowed it to drop in favor of answering.

"I made it myself from my teacher's design," I answered truthfully if excluding some details. "I don't know if I'll need a sheath, however, seeing as I could just make one on my own." To prove my point, I let Caliburn, and Avalon fade away into nothingness. I could call up a copy quickly enough if I had to.

"So you can already manipulate the mist that well? Or are you practicing magic?" Even if Chiron was surprised by my ability, he didn't seem overly so, perhaps other people also have the ability in this mythological world.

"I suppose you could call it that but I don't think I'm using this "mist", I solely use my own energy." As we continued to talk, I caught myself looking over all the beautifully crafted weapons, each detail painstakingly crafted to the limits of its maker's ability… Pulling myself back into reality, I saw Chiron carefully scrape his hoof while looking cautiously behind me.

"I see… I would say it's an extremely practical and rare power, to produce weapons with such power, perhaps… Regardless, I think you can handle yourself from now on if I'm not mistaken? I need to go and resolve whatever that thing might be…"

Without any time to respond, he galloped out of the building and towards whatever problem it might be. I turned to whatever caused him to be this abrupt in his departure, a worrying amount of vines start to form around the pine tree we saw earlier…

* * *

-Ebony's pov-

-Thalia's tree, a little while later-

When I finally arrived at the tree, a sigh escaped my lips, now what? Even if I was a bit annoyed still, it wasn't the trees fault, it had gone through just as much as I had I'd imagine…

Figuring I had nothing better to do, I let my gaze wander the pine… it was a beautiful tree, or at least it was supposed to be beautiful if it wasn't for its sickly appearance. It was almost a pity...

Shaking off that thought, I sat down beside the trunk to merely think abo-

_… The monsters are coming, they have no way to escape, I have to protect them…_

I shot up from the brief but intense thought that went through me. That hadn't been my own thought, I was certain of it… "What… the hell?" Turning to look at the tree, I suddenly distinguish something I hadn't done until now: three tattooed giants lumbering towards me! I won't let them hurt my frien-, the camp!

"Ugh, why do I have to resolve this?" I mutter to myself, roots growing up from the ground around me, none of them were from the tree but it would have to do. At least it would serve to alert the campers…

'I shouldn't even be thinking of fighting them, so why do I run at them? Why do I try putting them down? Why can't I just leave it to the nobles? It's their job, isn't it? So why… I had no more time to ponder like that. They had already noticed me and taken up boulders to throw. Making my vines lash out and catch the rock, I experienced a surge of confidence. 'Heh, I guess I have to demonstrate to them how this is done, right?'

* * *

Authors note:

To the three things that I saw the most

1: The Shirou I am using is from the Fate route, not the HF or UBW.

2: Because he is from the Fate route, he can/only know that he can use Caliburn and Avalon, however, he does have all the weapons he saw in the route(VN). It's sorta like having a multi-tool and only knowing about the knife and maybe one other but not getting it has other functions.

3: The name was mostly from my friend and she just played around with wood types, will make it just Ebony from now on

The two things from earlier still apply:

_How can I improve/anything you want to critique the story for so far?_

_Who do you feel Shirou should end up with in the future?_

With that, I will leave you all until next time, onto reviews!

nofirekiller123: Hope this clarified it to you, he is a demigod in this one

ENDDRAGON369: Yes he is, kinda liked that aspect of him honestly

Dragonmaster150: Thank you, could you point some out so I can fix them?

king carlos and Yolokai: I did try to write longer this time, did I succeed?

Bubbahfearsome: It is in the Sea of Monsters, hopefully, the chapter showed it that he didn't have that problem.

Im a guest: The relationships won't happen for a long time and this Fate version never was romantic with Artoria so yeah

Robynhood13: Well will be trying to keep the battles reasonable but remember it's the fate route plus he is de-aged

PanzerJ: He fell unconscious because he used Avalon to heal a big injury on another person, it takes a lot more to heal someone else with it than if you heal yourself. If he didn't do that he would be mostly fine really.

Pairing votes so far:

Artemis: 2(-2) Zoë: 4(-2)

Hestia: 2 Thalia: 1(-1)

Clarise: 1 Calypso: 1

Words: 3280

Finished and posted: 2020-02-08

Edited: 2020-02-23


	5. Chapter 4- Camp Life

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

I tried to update some of the old chapters a bit, will probably try to do this every now and then as I improve,

however, if you guys think that I should avoid that then please let me know.

Happy Valentines Day!

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Camp border, morning, three days after arrival-

"Don't get in my way, got it Short Stuff?" Came the voice of my current partner on this patrol, a girl called Clarisse, a daughter of Ares. She had been paired up with me for the past few days, which let me learn a few things about both her and this place. To be specific, I had grown familiar with the parameter around the border we were supposed to guard and defend.

She was a fighter, similar to Lancer in some ways, a similar kind of ferocity in them even if they stemmed from separate sources. She also reminded me of Shinji, seeing how she bullied people to get what she desired. However, in a fight, she changed. She became a commander, bellowing out orders while amid her troops, something I bore witness to in the defense against the giants.

It had been a few days since the attack, nobody getting majorly hurt despite the sudden attack. Ebony managed to keep the giants, that I later found out were called Laistrygonian Giants, a race of cannibalistic humanoids who ate innocent people and demigods. After I discovered that, I felt less remorse about turning them into golden dust with the other campers.

"We have done this before La Rue; it won't be any different, but can't you stop calling me 'Short Stuff'?" I could feel my eyebrow twitch in annoyance at her jab. My loss of height had been one of the few things I truly felt annoyed by with my age change...

"Pfff, maybe if you become taller than a girl as if that would ever happen." She teased, clearly enjoying my moment of frustration… I shouldn't allow her to irritate me through something as stupid as height. However, my de-aging seems to have brought back my younger selves' temper.

"Well, why don't we see who's better in a fight? Or are you scared?" I knew before I even said it that it was idiocy, she was the daughter of the war god and I had nothing to prove. However, some part of me disagreed, wanting to prove to her that I'm not some "Short Stuff" despite my physical height.

"Ohhhhh, you're screwed in our next sparring session after this, I'll make certain of it..." We then both fell into silence as I recalled how we ended up here in the first place.

-Flashback-

-Forest, the first day after arrival,

After the battle was over, Chiron took me aside.

"You did well in handling yourself out there Mr. Emiya, despite your lack of training?" It was as much a question as it was praise, asking me for details without prying.

"I grew up with a... Sister of sorts who trained kendo and later I met with a master who taught me for about two weeks." I answered him again, relaxing now when the battle was over.

Something hadn't felt right ever since I had come here and now I realized what it was. Despite my sudden de-aging, my mind was still using the same amount of prana as my teenage body could handle, something that had lead to my body constantly needing to heal whenever I used magecraft. Because of this, I would have to once more train until I could utilize this new amount.

"I see, must have been an interesting childhood and two giving weeks, however, that isn't why I asked you to come here." He said, waiting for me to ask any questions before he continued, clearly shoving his nature as a teacher.

"There is a certain girl here at camp who is among our strongest warriors, but she... has a tendency to not work well with others, however, I think you could perhaps be able to help her with that." The teacher said this as if asking me to participate in a group project with a talented delinquent.

"Why would you ask me?"

"Why? Your archery and from what I've seen from you, you learn a thing or two when you live a few millennia. I trust you with this Emiya, please don't let me have judged you poorly." Then, he trotted away to help the others, leaving me to my thoughts.

-Present-

And that was what happened, shortly after this the attack happened and the defenses tightened, leading me to be paired with the girl walking with me towards the arena.

Chiron was nowhere to be seen, most likely giving the last orders to campers to ensure everything was as it should be. It was only a matter of time before he was replaced with someone else.

"Scared, Small Stuff?" Clarisse taunted, but I managed to keep my mouth under control.

"Yes, can't you hear it in my voice?" My reply was monotone, leaving no need to speculate about what I felt, causing her to growl in annoyance.

"Whatever." It was the Sole thing she said when we entered the arena, it's stone structure towering above us as we walked to opposite sides of the arena.

"Ready?"

"Always Short Stuff"

Then, we clashed.

* * *

-Ebony's pov-

-Thalia's tree, three days after arrival-

After the incident, things changed. The older dryads still avoided me, but the younger once didn't… even if it wasn't what I fully wished for, I could take it.

Looking back at it, with a calmer mind, I realized how much I had overreacted: How would I react if a person suddenly came up while looking like nothing I've ever seen before? It didn't mean it hurt less; I could just understand them better.

After I helped on the hill, I finally meet Chiron, and Mr. D. Chiron didn't seem to be bothered much by my appearance while Mr. D… he almost seemed to be more annoyed than anything, whether it was from me or something else I couldn't tell. In any case, they let me stay close to the pine tree. They said it was clear I was able to both defend and alarm against attacks at the same time, something a part of me felt grateful to.

Nothing had happened since, leaving me to calm down and slowly grow used to the camp, not that I'm complaining. It seemed, at least for now, that this more relaxed approach helped. I had experienced fewer of my sudden "mood swings", as humans called it.

However, I did notice the reoccurring "dreams" I've been having whenever I closed my eyes: either a fire or a hoard of monsters running towards me, more of the latter than the former as of late…

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Arena, midday-

Our weapons clashed while our shield moved to defend against the other's blows. We then disengaged, moving around the other, searching for an opening in the opponent's defense.

She was good, having trained for years, in terms of pure experience she had me beat from the start. However, thanks to Saber's training I could more than react to her blows, more than thankful that my muscle memory didn't seem to disappear from the change and had adjusted to my new height better than before.

Clarisse, seemingly frustrated by our standstill, lunged at me with her sword as if it was a spear, forcing me to jump aside if I didn't want to be either run through or pummeled by her shield.

… This wasn't good…

If this kept going I would inevitably get hit, especially with how Clarisse sword could bend and strike from impossible angles, most likely a power granted to her from being the daughter of the war god. That wasn't to say she owed all her skill to her father, I can't quite tell but I knew from the look of her blade that she had fought for her position as head counselor of her cabin.

Taking a deep breath I discarded my shield, it would only slow me down for what I was planning. Clarisse, in an act I knew, would happen even if I didn't quite know how: rage and confusion.

"Why are you dropping your shield, too afraid to keep fighting? Going to just admit I'm better than you?" The way she said it made me suspect that she knew, that she understood that I had no such plans.

"I won't need it," I said, making her grit her teeth, probably having seen it as a jab against her skill and pride in a fight.

"Tch, don't act like you could beat me in the first place," she said, throwing her shield away while gripping her sword in both hands, disregarding the advantages she's losing in favor of keeping her pride.

Then, as if we had heard an unspoken order to engage, we charged at each other. The speed I've experienced Ebony seemed to return, making me go faster and faster, closing the distance almost instantly while striking down towards Clarisse's exposed shoulder. The borrowed blade I'm using was blunted long ago to serve as a training weapon.

However, the daughter of Ares wouldn't go down that easily. Jumping back, she managed to let my attack only hit her across her armored chest and send her backward, but not before delivering a thrust of her own against my chest.

… Neither of us had delivered a finishing blow, only temporarily stunning the other…

"Ugh…" I groaned, once more feeling my body protest against my previous actions, trying to force me to stay put. I didn't listen and pushed through the pain.

Before we could engage once more, however, shouts about the signal breaking us out of our fight as we crossed the distance to the exit. Clarisse ended up grabbing my shield and a spear after throwing her blade to me. We could settle this later. We needed to protect the camp.

* * *

A smile spread across my lips, the sight of campers fighting against monsters once more bringing me great amusement.

'Ohhh how exciting, seemed like one of them got caught and will be stabbed, wonder what will happen next? They do have poor technique however; those foolish monsters barely knew how to properly kill!

Opening my eyes and taking in my surroundings, I could only sigh. How I wished brother could see me now, his expression at seeing these corpses would be quite amusing…

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Half-blood hill, a few minutes after-

Stepping aside from a wide sweeping stroke, my blades cleaving the space the monster had occupied, leaving nothing but dust. Gazing around me, I could see that most if not all other monsters were disposed of. I let out a breath before moving to help untangle a few of the campers that were wrapped in weighted nets.

Cutting them lose I let myself relax a bit more, knowing that they were all safe. I used the blade sparingly when a particularly tight net was unable to easily be taken off any other way.

Halfway through the battle, I'd realized how the second sword didn't seem to flow as smoothly, leading me to utilize it in a more defensive manner rather than an offensive one. Regardless, it felt a bit unnatural not to utilize only one of the blades on its own.

Shaking away that thought, I helped the last caught camper to his feet, getting a grateful smile in return.

"Man, I thought I was done for, thanks for that," he said, an apologetic smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head. He was dressed in the same armor, and orange camp shirt most of us had together with black jeans. His hair was as brilliant as the sun, something that let me know he was a son of Apollo. I'd seen him with the other Apollo kids from my morning at the archery range.

"There's no need to thank me; we need to protect the camp," I said, my lips almost forming into a ghost to a smile at the thought of what I've been doing at camp. Here, my dream as a "Hero of Justice" was both closer and further than ever before. I could train and talk with people who shared similar ambitions as my own, however, it would be even harder.

How could a "Hero of Justice" be able to fulfill its role when so many more heroes were around? How could I be a "superhero" who protected everyone if other heroes put themselves in danger? To save one was to fail in saving another, but how would that apply to another hero? No… I can't think about things like that. I will merely have to be strong enough, strong enough to save everyone; even other heroes.

The son of Apollo's smile and joy only strengthening my resolve, for how could such a beautiful dream that brought joy to others ever be wrong?

* * *

-Clarisse's pov-

-Arena, midday-

I couldn't believe him. I had been training for years, he had just arrived here. I was his superior in skill and yet, he could defend against my assaults, even responding with his own. I should've been pissed at seeing a pipsqueak like him keep up with me, but I could, not fully at least. It was frustrating while I couldn't keep my lips from curling up.

I had defeated my siblings and most other half-bloods my age, only losing to Jackson because of his water powers, he wasn't anything compared to me without them!

Regardless, this Asian kid could somehow keep up with me, with a style of swordsmanship I've never seen before! It was, for lack of better word; exciting, even fun to an extent. I'd always loved a good battle. Feeling my body be pushed to the limits by someone else. A fight was to ultimately see who was the superior warrior.

I hadn't been able to experience that thrill against another camper for a long time, however. It was getting more and more frustrating each time people failed to push me. I expected him to be just the same… he surprised me. His style might not be perfect, but he had been taught by someone far beyond him in both skill and power, forcing him to adapt.

I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise then that I felt insulted when he threw away his shield, claiming he didn't need it. Ohhh my blood was starting to boil a little at that, my pride not letting me keep my shield as I followed his example.

… he was planning something. I need to avoid it…

That was what my instincts told me, but I still ignored them in favor of my pride.

My instincts were confirmed when he shot at me like a bullet, going faster and faster for each step. My instincts saved me, causing my body to jump away before the blow could connect; thrusting out a stab with my blade against his stomach.

His blow only managed to impact the breastplate but it still held enough force to make me fly backward, sliding on my feet to stop myself when I landed. My blow on him seemed to have stopped him in his track, his legs shaking slightly.

'That… wasn't right, he might have moved fast but that was no reason to be tired already, what's going on?'

My thoughts on this were however cut short orders were barked out in loud voices, another attack had started.

The last of the monsters had been eliminated rather quickly, the combined forces of all the cabins working together combined with my leadership making short work of them.

Looking out over the battlefield in search of any wounded, I was relieved that most if not all the tro- campers were alright; if still a bit beaten up. Shir- Short Stuff was cutting free a few other campers, his expression strangely determined.

"Wonder what he's thinking of…" I muttered, moving to help with the most badly hurt Half-bloods, there might not be a lot of them but they still needed to be looked over quickly.

* * *

-Ebony's pov-

-Thalia's tree, a week after arrival-

Attacks kept occurring, more Half-bloods having to be patched up, the tension constantly increasing. These past few weeks had gotten worse, fewer and fewer Half-bloods arriving at camp, it was almost painful to see so many satires return empty-handed.

However, it wasn't all misery: More and more of the campers started to talk and work together, despite how they traditionally didn't. It was refreshing to hear of a son of Ares confessing his crush to a daughter of Athena when he thought nobody was around. We dryads were amazing at gossiping, especially together if it involved romance!

"Hehe, guess some pleasant things came from this…" I said to myself, gazing up at the starlit sky. It was gorgeous, flawless and untarnished, a bitter laugh escaping my lips: Since when did I become so damn melodramatic?

Taking a deep breath my back pushed harder back into the pine tree. It's condition weakening no matter what I attempted, and even Satyr magic or Chiron couldn't achieve anything beyond slowing down the effects. I can't imagine what the spirit within the tree is experiencing...

Maybe… no, I shouldn't think like that. Whatever happened to me shouldn't be forced onto her; even if it might at least release her. I refuse to allow another dryad to discover the voice I had, it's not worth it… furthermore, even if it worked, it wouldn't save the barrier. It might even weaken it.

Regardless, I should try and fall asleep now that the dreams of that fire aren't bothering me anymore...

* * *

Reviews:

ultima-owner: Well hope the chapter explains it, otherwise please tell me what you meant and I will try to explain.

Dragonmaster150: I honestly forgot about that, hope this chapter managed to somewhat make up for it, next time I will be more careful with the scenes. I hope I managed to make Ebony less stiff in this chapter, will have to work on it more tho. I will make a final poll when I have decided don't worry, thank you for all your wonderful ideas!

Drago - X6627: I have only seen some of OuS and have only seen momya comics so I can't really say sadly, will have to look into it later.

Framework: I'm sorry for making it so confusing, tried to experiment with pov's and went overboard, hope this is better.

Kayen1024: Wow, this was a wonderful analysis and argument for this pairing, I can see how all your points really do apply especially with the parts about his family and him taking care of himself in order to make her happy, thank you for this wonderful argument. It was quite convincing honestly.

Tsukishiro Sayuki: I wasn't aware, then he has more growing to do then I thought.

RedBurningDragon: Yes he will be, he might pick up a few tricks from archer but this versions fighting ability will be a bit different as he has different circomstances.

AmethystPone: Yeah I know, dw he will keep to it for a while.

Deaths Remnant: I do remember that scene and trust me I won't forget his ability to do that.

PanzerJ: Well in the past the mana was handled by Saber if I'm not incorrect, so this time Shirou had to use his own mana; healing himself doesn't take that much while healing another takes much more.

Guest cha 4: It was? Well can try and implement it a bit more, thought it was a little shaky and just less clean than this one- could be wrong tho, of course.

Guest cha 1: Well some people bath and swim with trunks or swim shorts so that was why I clarified, especially as at least the people I know use swim and bath almost as the same words.

Guest cha 3: Tried to show the result of her being in a strange place where something she doesn't know or can control happened and then the people she wants to get help from becomes afraid of her cause they don't understand what she is kinda as this has never happened before. Might have gone overboard.

Pairing votes so far:

(Might be completely off with some as it's hard to count them all)  
Artemis: 14(-2) Zoë: 11(-2)  
Hestia: 10*(-1) Thalia: 4(-1)  
Clarise: 3(-1) Calypso: 3  
Athena: 1

Words: 3013  
Finished: 2020-02-13  
Posted: 2020-02-14


	6. Chapter 5- New Arrivals

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside my ideas and madness.

Sorry for taking so long with the chapter, had to get it through my beta for the chapter, hope it improved the quality!

Hope you all enjoy it, btw I have an important question at the end so please do read it.

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

I was dreaming. I had done so far too many times to be unaware of it, the sensation was distinctly vivid, however it was different from the waking world.

"My my, seem like someone is starting to learn, or did I make it too simple for you, Shirou-chan?"

That voice, it was the voice of a friend; the girl I'd seen before she disappeared in the wind, Saber. However, it wasn't her, the tone and style in which it was stated was far too different to how she would speak. Trying to shift my head towards the unknown speaker, I became aware that my body refused to budge; frozen as if to restrain me.

"No no, you will see me when the time is right. You shouldn't even be here in the first place… No, it's more fascinating if you break the script, seeing what happened to you. At the moment I would say it's time to wake up, don't you think?"

Before I could attempt to respond, a sensation, like being punched, came over me, forcing me to close my eyes. When my eyes finally opened, back in the overcrowded cabin.

-A few hours later, two weeks after arriving; breakfast-

It had taken me a week after arriving to convince the nymphs and dryads to allow me to cook, however I had succeeded. While they lacked many of the ingredients that I was used to, they seemed eager to expand the variety and tastes of their meals. This gained me a few teasing comments, about how I must be a son of Hestia or Hera with how skilled I already was at such a young age.

Regardless, that didn't at all mean the dryads were unskilled. Far from it, in fact, as I discovered quite a few things from them, just as they learned from me. The former "head chef" seemed to be especially against the idea of me cooking, causing quite a few competitions between us that the campers were all extremely eager to encourage; a small light and joy that they could rely on.

Well, the new Activities Director (who arrived shortly after I started working in the kitchen) did try to enjoy it, but his curse prevented him. After a few meals, he just started glaring at us both with hatred in his eyes.

One such competition was just wrapping up, concluding in a feast of a breakfast; almost grand enough for me to forget about my dream. However, one thought stayed in the back of my mind even as I observed the others eat, slowly chewing my own omelet.

'Who was it?'

* * *

-Clarisse's pov-

-Mid-day, Forest-

The attacks had gradually become less and less frequent, but that didn't mean we could let our guard down. The tree was getting weaker and weaker, and the monsters that were attacking were gradually becoming more powerful.

And as if that wasn't enough, Short Stuff was trying to defend us! It'd start off with them just helping when we needed it but now?!

-Flashback, three days ago, hill-

Rolling out of the way, my spear striking out at the offending hellhound, my momentum stopped. It managed to move slightly out of the way, just enough that my spear couldn't do any major damage.

Three inches right, five inches in and two inches up.

I ignored the voice, knowing where my strike would've been lethal. It's damn annoying to "hear" in every fight as if I didn't know how to kill this thing.

'Don't think, act' I prompted myself, raising my shield against an incoming strike, thrusting my own-

My hand stopped short, keeping my crackling spear from penetrating the beast. The beast was already dead, a blade sticking out of its snout. A mop of red hair made itself known as the beast fell, golden eyes meeting mine.

How. Dare. He. Do. This.

"I had that under control! Don't EVER do that again!" So what if he could fight, I don't need his fucking protection! Who does he think he is?!

His only response was giving me his usual blank expression and run to "help" someone else. Oh, that's it! I will make that fucking thing disappear and make him show something alright!

-Flashback end-

After the monsters were gone, I confronted him. He couldn't just go around and think he could just "save" me! I'm Clarisse! The one people need saving from!

We agreed through the best method: Battle. I didn't need long debates when a few rounds could do the talking for me, something Short Stuff seemed to understand.

'At least one admirable thing about him… unlike all the others in this place.' People don't seem to get that all you required sometimes was a few strikes instead of hours of talk.

He wouldn't defend me unnecessarily, and I would let him fight as he wished.

This was our agreement, something I was fine with for now...

* * *

-Shirou's pov-

-Afternoon, close to dinner, hill-

Once more we moved fast, grabbing our weapons or helping each other get ready, we were used to this by now; we moved without a doubt in our steps and with fire in our eyes.

Reaching the top quickly, my eyes met with Ebony's for a second before moving onto our enemies. I had to make sure she remembered her role, the rising wines, and roots my only response.

Faced with three bronze bulls, my body heated up; a gun going off inside my mind. I was upon the bull just as the others were past Thalia's tree, evident by the sound of moving vegetation.

'I can't focus on that' I prompted myself, slashing down with my bronze sword against its side. It slides off, forcing me to move back. I had its attention, puffs of smoke exiting its nostrils.

'Not good…' It scraped its hoof, then the bronze construction dashed forward. I should have moved, leaping to the side at the last moment, but I couldn't. If I did, the heroes behind me wouldn't be able to react in time.

Judging the concept of creation

Hypothesizing the basic structure

The bull wouldn't be stopped by a simple bronze sword, at least not one that couldn't even put a scratch on it.

Duplicating the composition material

Imitating the skill of its making

I required a weapon, one capable of cutting through something that seemed impenetrable.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

Reproducing the accumulated years

The process of creation had speed up, the path walked over and over easier than ever to travel, it's pathway ingrained within my mind.

Excelling every manufacturing process

"Trace, on!"

Caliburn was in my hand without much effort, projected in just a few seconds, just in time to meet the Automaton's dash. I wouldn't be capable of charging it like I had Ebony or Clarisse, but I could still stop it.

Filling the blade with as much prana as I could, I slashed against the ground before me, raising pieces of the ground into the air. The temporary barrier between us must have startled the animal, causing it to try and either stop or turn.

'Good' I thought to myself, my plan had worked. Grasping this opportunity, I dashed through the "wall" I had made, starting my swing before I was through; taking the mechanical monster by surprise.

My blade cut cleanly through the outer plating. Saber's former blade left a light gash within its structure due to my lack of aim, oil dripping out from within as if it was blood.

Taking a proper stance I heard the sound of a car quickly approaching. If that was even more enemies, we had to wrap this up quickly!

Realizing I couldn't leave it to chance, I rushed the bronze bovine as fast as I could.

Step...

A gust of flames exiting its nostrils, the beast readied itself...

Step step…

It started moving, picking up speed even as more and more oil started to leak out...

Step step step…

We were but an instance from impact, my legs suddenly launching me to the left of it while my blade shot out without the need for guidance from my arms.

Sliding to a sudden stop, I capitalized on my momentum to turn around, facing up the hill. The bull continued its path while losing momentum with each step; a gash along its side making it leak more of its black lifeblood.

"Ghhha, damn it…" A curse slipped past my lips. There was a gash the size of my fist going straight through my right side. Pulses of pain shot through me, practically making me lose my grip of the sword. My legs started to feel the familiar feeling that followed that burst of speed.

… No…

I clenched my jaw and pushed back the pain. The others needed me right now. I couldn't let them face these things alone.

I ran, right past the rapidly vanishing bull, my mind solely focused on the hilltop. "Too slow…" I muttered, sending a surge of prana into my legs, once more ignoring the shot of pain that went through them.

Reaching the hilltop in what couldn't have been more than a few seconds, I saw a giant boy slam his fists into the face of one of the bulls while Clarisse stood victorious close by the second, watching it run around her spear.

...They were safe…

I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I walked to greet our new allies. However, in my moment of relaxation, my legs gave out slightly; making me fall to my knees. Or I would have if a pair of vines didn't spring up to keep me upright.

"What are you DOING, you damn idiot?! Why are you running around with THAT?!" came the booming voice of Clarisse after she saw my wound…

-A few minutes later; infirmary-

After explaining to Clarisse and the others that I wasn't in mortal danger, we took the other campers to the infirmary within the Big House. The three newcomers left shortly after they had helped us there.

The infirmary was what you would expect, stocked with all the equipment common to a smaller clinic, albeit with a few differences; Namely bottles of nectar and bags of ambrosia. Currently, six of the beds were occupied, excluding me and Clarisse who both refused to lay down.

Three of the bedridden patients were inflicted with second degree burns while one of them also had other injuries. As for me, they could barely find any injuries. This caused the others to stare, mouth open at the slightly paler skin…

"Okay, what's wrong with you? Can't you even get hurt properly? That expression you've got pisses me off enough!" growled Clarisse, arm being cast up in a sling.

"La Rue, you shouldn't worry about me, I'm fine; it's a gift from my friend's mentor." It wasn't a lie but not quite the whole story, not that they needed it.

"You are seriously stupid if you think I will let you die on my watch just cause you can't get fucking hurt." She growled out the last part through gritted teeth, having flailed her good arm in annoyance.

"You wouldn't be the first to say that," I informed her, hearing a bell sound in the distance. "Seems like dinner is done, do you think you can get there on your own?"

A punch was my sole response.

* * *

-New York, late afternoon; sewers-

-? Pov-

"Things have changed, master." A feminine voice said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Ohh? How so?" I asked, looking up to watch the female Telekine, her form lowered into a crouched bow.

"The bull you released was slain." Her voice was tense, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Naturally, it's to be expected with the people at camp." It wasn't in the least shocking to me, those people were strong and they had numbers on their side as well.

"Huh? Then… did you send it there knowing it would die?" She finally looked up at me, a slight amount of irritation showing through at the thought I merely wasted them.

"Yes, but remember it wasn't a loss, we have our plans after all." This seemed to soothe her, her expression softening for a second in understanding before once more tightening.

"Forgive me, my lord, for questioning your motives." Her fists were clenched as her head once more fell, her ears laying back.

"Heh don't worry, it's understandable that you don't like the idea of throwing away the usurper's inventions without purpose." I urged her to stand, knowing that we had much to do.

"Now, can you tell me more about the magic you Telekines are so proud of? I wanna make sure you aren't just a fellow weakling like myself."

* * *

-Shirou's Pov-

-Dinner, Dinner pavilion-

Dinner was different, a new tension hanging in the air. Glances were being cast at the newcomers, one in particular: A boy far too big to be human, his solitary eye showing even more of his non-human heritage, a cyclops.

"Who invited that.. Thing?" A voice said from the Apollo table, the same boy I helped earlier. This seemed to bother the boy who walked beside the cyclops, his green eyes searching for whoever spoke ill of his friend.

"Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete." Mr. D drawled. We hadn't talked much, never having a reason to do so. He wore his usual Hawaiian leopard shirt, shorts and tennis shoes with black socks underneath. He was a middle-aged man with a beer belly and red face, something I've learned was from a multi-year lack of alcohol.

The newcomer, who likely wasn't named Peter at all, gritted his teeth. "Percy Jackson… sir." That last word was forced out, a focused gaze on the god.

Mr. D took a slow sip of his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever."

'This won't end well…' I thought to myself, determined to just observe now, reinforcing my ears to not miss anything.

"This boy," Mr. D told the man beside him, "you need to watch. Poseidon's child, you know."

The man in question nodded. "Ahhh. That one." They must have talked about this boy, Jackson, before.

Tantalus looked as rugged as usual in his orange jumpsuit, 0001 printed above his heart. His clothes did nothing to hide how malnourished or skeletal he was. I had tried providing him with extra food once but was soon reminded of the myth about him, as the food simply had moved away.

"I am Tantalus," He said, his smile cold. "On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."

"Trouble?" Jackson asked, a puzzled expression on his face. Mr. D only responded by snapping his fingers. A newspaper appeared on the table— too far away for me to identify what was written but the tension in Jackson's body told me enough.

"Yes, trouble," Tantalus said in a satisfied tone. "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."

The cursed king licked his lips as a Satyr placed a plate of grilled lightly seasoned salmon, vegetables, rice, and some grilled beef. Looking at his empty goblet, he said "Root beer. Barq's special stock. 1967." to which it filled itself with the foaming drink.

Tantalus stretched out his hand hesitantly, afraid that he once more would lose it. I couldn't blame him, imagining how it would feel to be unable to eat or drink anything for centuries. It made me feel sympathetic towards what once was the proud founder of the House of Atreus.

"Go on, then, old fellow," Dionysus said, a sadistic sparkle in his eyes. "Perhaps now it will work."

The false encouragement was enough to push Tantalus over the edge, grabbing for the glass only for it to move just out of reach. A few drops must have spilled, seeing how he desperately tried to get at least one drop to stick to his finger, to no avail.

Growling, he abandoned his drink before arming himself with a fork. He made a heroic attempt at the salmon, only for the plate to shoot down and off the table, straight into a fire.

"Blast!" Tantalus muttered, though he didn't see at all surprised with the outcome. It had been his life for over 3,000 years.

"Ah, well," Mr. D said, his voice oozing with false sympathy."Perhaps a few more days. Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."

"Eventually," muttered defeated Tantalus, staring longingly at Mr. D's Diet Coke."Do you have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?"

"You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment," Jackson said. "The one who stands in the lake with the fruit tree hanging over you, but you can't eat or drink."

'Seem like Jackson likes trouble or can't keep things in' I thought sarcastically.

Tantalus sneered at me. "A real scholar, aren't you, boy?"

"You must've done something really horrible when you were alive," Jackson said, sounding mildly impressed. "What was it?"

Tantalus's eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously, trying to warn the poor fool who had asked.

"I'll be watching you, Percy Jackson," Tantalus said."I don't want any problems at my camp."

"Your camp has problems already... sir."

"Oh, go sit down, Johnson," Dionysus sighed. "I believe that table over there is yours—the one where no one else ever wants to sit."

It looked as if Jackson wanted to say something but kept it in, instead turning to the giant beside him. "Come on, Tyson."

"Oh, no," Tantalus said."The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it."

"Him," Jackson snapped. "His name is Tyson."

The new activities director raised an eyebrow.

"Tyson saved the camp," Jackson insisted. "He pounded those bronze bulls. Otherwise, they would've burned down this whole place."

"Yes," Tantalus sighed, "and what a pity that would've been. Besides, we have protected this camp well enough on our own."

Dionysus snickered.

"Leave us," Tantalus ordered, "while we decide this creature's fate."

The cyclops, Tyson I reminded myself, looked down at Jackson fearfully. He seemed to seek some sort of salvation from this situation, something Jackson knew he couldn't give him. Instead, he gave a promise.

"I'll be right over here, big guy, and don't worry. We'll find you a good place to sleep tonight."

Tyson nodded. "I believe you. You are my friend."

Those two brief sentences said with such innocence and genuine faith seemed to hit harder for Jackson then the giant's fist would have done. Walking to his table as if defeated, the son of the Sea God slumped down as he sat. He wasn't focusing much attention on the food placed in front of him.

'It must be something else than the words Mr. D and Tantalus said weighing on him…'

Having received his dinner, Jackson walked over to a bronze brazier like everyone else had and scraped part of it into the flames.

"Poseidon," He murmured, "accept my offering."

He must have meant or wanted something more with this offering but whatever it might have been, his expression if anything grew more solemn than before.

Thinking it must be over I focused on my circuits and turn off the "switch", just in time for a conch horn to sound. Tantalus must have wanted to inform us of something.

* * *

-Clarisse's Pov-

"Yes, well," Tantalus said, once the talking had died down. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told." As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was up to, but it did. It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches. "Yes, well," Tantalus said, once the talking had died down. "And here on my first day of authority," he continued, "I'd like saying what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."

Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs, they had to after all. The cyclops was still standing at the head table. He looked uncomfortable, but each time he tried getting away, Tantalus pulled him back. I almost felt bad for the monster.

"And now some changes!" Tantalus's crooked smile glared back at us as he spoke. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"

Murmuring broke out at all the tables—excitement, fear, disbelief. Even we in the Ares cabin were cautious about the races. 'What was he, what was he thinking? We had border patrol, we needed to protect the camp, not race in death wagons!' This wasn't the time for that.

"Now I know," Tantalus continued. He then raised his voice, "that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," Paul at the Apollo table called out to him. That was another reason not to do it, we couldn't lose even one camper to something as foolish as that.

"Yes, yes!" Tantalus said. "But I know you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

An explosion of exciting conversations—no chores for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious?

I had to object to this, how couldn't they see the risks?

"But, sir!" I said in protest, my mouth speaking before my mind caught up with it. 'Shit' I thought to myself before standing up, thankful that Short stuff took away that damn sign someone had put on my back. 'Deep breaths Clarise, just imagine it's a war council'.

"What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots—"

"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus exclaimed. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze Bulls!"

I blinked owlishly before a surge of heat shot over my face. 'Why was he saying that?' "Um, I didn't—" Before I could say anything, he interrupted.

"And modest, too." Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to

enjoy ourselves, yes?"

"But the tree—" I was once more cut off by the camp director.

"And now," Tantalus said, just as I could feel my brothers, Mark and Chris, pull me back in my seat. There was no use fighting them. Nobody would listen to me when I couldn't even get my words out. "Before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here." Tantalus waved a hand toward the cyclops. Uneasy murmuring spread among the campers, many glancing at the two mentioned half-bloods.

"Now, of course," he said, "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?"

Silence at the Hermes table. Travis and Connor Stoll stared down at the table. Not that I could blame them with how their cabin always was full to the brim. There was no way they could take in an over six-feet Cyclops. Despite this, short stuff seemed determined to convince them otherwise.

"Come now," Tantalus chided."The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"

A gasp resounded through the dining pavilion.

Tantalus scooted away from the kid giant in surprise. All I could do was stare in disbelief at the brilliant green—a dazzling holographic image that had appeared above its head.

Swirling over it was a glowing green trident—the same symbol that had appeared above Percy the day Poseidon had claimed him as his son.

There was a moment of awed silence. Of course, it was. Being claimed was a rare event.

Some campers waited in vain for it their whole lives. When I'd been claimed by Ares a few summers ago after defeating an older kid, I had been paraded around. When Poseidon claimed Percy last summer, everyone had reverently knelt.

But now, they followed Tantalus's lead, and Tantalus roared with laughter. "Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!"

Everybody laughed except Annabeth and a few other campers, including me.

The cyclops didn't seem to notice. He was too mystified, trying to swat the glowing trident that was now fading over his head. He must have been too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people could be.

Glancing towards the Hermes cabin, I saw Short Stuff staring me down, the message clear. 'We meet by the tree.'

* * *

One thing I thought of:

Should I stay with this story only and update roughly once a week

Or start another one and post every two weeks(One chapter per week, different stories)?

Reviews:

98kazer: There were only a few days between chapter 3 and 4, chapter 5 was mostly a series of

Guts and Toes & Ezeakel: It was a flashback because I couldn't add that earlier, now I've changed it. On the topic of perspective, why do you two think the story would benefit from being a 3rd person story?

Dragonmaster150: I implemented the suggestion you had about the pov's and fixed the spelling, also fixed the introduction of Chiron a bit which added a little scene I had to write lol. Thank you for thinking I write them better now, I hope to improve as I go along so new characters will maybe get a little wonky at first but hopefully they become more smooth.

Steamguy: What do you mean?

Kayen1024: Well I hope I make it somewhat believable at the very least, and on the topic of pairings I do think a comment detailing why a pairing should happen should carry a bit more weight than just a simple vote but that doesn't make votes obsolete, just make it more likely I will take the suggestion and give a star to that character so to say.

Robynhood13: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as it has some more moments with them and if you can make a compelling case together with some others she might win, regardless however I hope you will keep reading. I do agree tho that the Artemis' pairing is difficult and needs a lot of time for it if it were to happen.

Kamen rider: I don't think he will use UBW for quite some time, and yeah I do plan to add him being from another world as a plot point.

AriFrost: Hope this was more eventful, the other chapters were sorta to establish the world a little and the characters plus get to the main plot.

Guest 1: Fixed

Guest 2: I don't quite know what you mean, could you give examples? And some things I leave open for later if that's what you mean?

Pairing votes so far:

(Might be completely off with some as it's hard to count them all)  
Artemis: 19(-3) Zoë: 13(-2)  
Hestia: 16*(-1) Thalia: 5(-1)  
Clarise: 6(-1) Calypso: 4  
Athena: 1

Words: 4280

Finished and posted: 2020-02-24

Beta'd by: Imiriath


	7. I'm sorry

Author note:

I'm sorry to have to send this but I think I've burned myself out on this story, HOWEVER, before you unfollow or grab the mob equipment, I promise I will pick this story up as soon as I feel I am able to; that is my promise to you guys.

In the meantime, I plan on writing something else in order to still improve and possibly work through this faster, but I think I will take two weeks between updates instead of one week. In compensation, I hope to make more clean and better fanfictions instead of the sloppy chapters that have needed a lot of editing.

The fanfictions I had in mind were the following while we wait for my ideas to not be burned up are:

Highschool DxD/Devilman

Basically Issei isn't the Red Dragon Emperor, instead, he discovers that he is something most thought extinct: A human with demon's body, a Devilman. The story would take a slightly different approach to most events while exploring the changes that would have had to happen for these universes to fit together.

Pairing undetermined

Highschool DxD/Fate

Once more a DxD story with Issei in the focus, this time with a Class Card inside him from someone other than Gil or Archer, would explore the humans in DxD a bit more while including people fate (maybe)

Pairing undetermined.

Fate(Possibly with Tsukihime)

A Fate fanfic with Shinji and Shirou as the main characters, exploring what would have happened if they had realized the other was a magus. It would be more down to earth and explore their friendship and the things that might have been if they had helped each other at an early age. (AU sorta)

Percy Jackson/The gamer

A OC story about what I think would happen when the origin of the power is from Gaia. It would explore how information that is mixed together with info from other works can mess with your perception and make you go down the wrong path.

* * *

As to not make this completely worthless, here are some answers to recent reviews:

orion399: Sorry to disappoint you with this, I will try to get back to this as soon as possible, I promise.

Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros: That's a good idea honestly, thank you.

RedBurningDragon: I doubt it has anything to do with his sword style, yes Archer used his swords that way but it doesn't mean it's a prerequisite for UBW in my opinion, however, it will take a while for UBW to come if I even add it in at all. None of the routes that we see lead to Archer, Archer is from a Fate route timeline where he was unable to save Arthuria's heart.

VGBlackwing: I didn't make a pole for a few reasons, one of them is that then only people with accounts could vote and the second is then people couldn't really tell me why they think a pairing fits or not.

Kayen1024: What do you mean? If you mean that I should add a description of what they see around them then yeah I will try but if you mean something else I don't quite understand? As to foreshadowing, I tried to add the car and the thing with that but can add more in the future, as for the eye well outside of camp it's hard to see his one eye and he was more just overlooking things.

Nikkless: Yes, this Shirou is from the fate route so he doesn't have the weapons that Gil and Archer have.

When I wrote "Brothers and sisters of the fire" I meant the other orphans from the Fujuki fire incident, they were only revealed to be under the church and being used as "batteries" in the fate route. He calls them that himself in the Visual Novel

He used Caliburn because he doesn't know he can use Archer's swords.

Shirou, in the Visual Novel, sometimes refers to himself as another person when it comes to his death or being hurt.

I know he used his nerves but this is after the war ended so he knows about his real circuits so he uses them. He doesn't need to open them again as they are already open.

I know how magic circuits work and have read the entry so you don't need to send it to the review section.

In my story, Shirou isn't a normal human so he can enter the camp.

They might be able to sense it but he hasn't had it out in a situation where they can sense it in peace, either doing it when they are knocked out or far away and he is in a fight.

* * *

Once again, I apologize to you all and hope this will only be temporary, I won't abandon this story tho.

(I will put up a poll on my profile for the vote in a bit but you can vote in pm or here if you wish but try keeping it to a minimum)

Posted: 2020-02-28


	8. Good news and New beginnings

I will keep this brief as you all have waited for so long for this. For the last few months I've been away I tried to overcome the burnout and keep up with school while also not abandoning writing entirely. I've read books and practiced by writing various drafts and plotted out this and other stories and have vastly improved while overcoming burnout.

I plan on rewriting and rebuild this story from the ground up as I found that it would be far harder to edit it rather than rewriting it. I have also decided to make each chapter longer and far more descriptive than before while keeping the chapter output at a manageable time. I hope that you are able to wait just a little bit longer for when I upload the continuation to this. Thank you all for supporting me through all of this, it really means a lot. Reach out to me with any questions you might have as I am more than happy to answer.


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